i agree. congress should act to ban any militarily-condoned action which leads to soldiers committing suicide.

This politician was probably just upset that the soldier wasn't spending that money in an Indian casino in his district.

"If American men and women are willing to serve our country overseas we should not be dependent on them to pay for recreational activities they deserve," Davis said in a written statement. "The risks are simply too high and too many to ask that of our soldiers."

But they can still gamble in Atlantic city and Vegas, right? Because God knows - we wouldn't want to offend the LOCAL gambling operations.

Elvis_Bogart: This politician was probably just upset that the soldier wasn't spending that money in an Indian casino in his district.

Get out of my mind.

If he was stationed in Japan or Korea, he could just walk off post and play at the pachinko parlors.

god damned blue dog democrat. get out of the damn party you idiot.

submitter: What do you do if a soldier becomes addicted to gambling and commits suicide? If you're a Congressman, you try to ban all soldiers from playing slot machines while overseas

ftfa: The Warrant Officer Aaron Walsh Stop DOD-Sponsored Gambling Act would prohibit the military from operating slot machines on military bases.

your a idiot

This isn't going to end well.

Slot machines and video poker are the devil. They account for a ridiculous portion of the addiction rate and they're counter to the image the gaming industry wants to project. Yet casinos aren't profitable without them. Long term, the gaming industry has some pretty serious challenges.

My grandfather started a bingo parlor in England when he was stationed there in WWII, made a ton of money. Sent it back to my grandma to buy a house.

/vaguely on topic

Gee, what else could they ban that's addictive or causes soldiers to commit suicide? Alcohol? Tobacco? Sex? War?

After reading the headline, I bet myself a HUNDRED dollars that that the sponsor of the bill would be a nanny-state Democrat.

W00T! Now where to spend my found money?

BravadoGT: After reading the headline, I bet myself a HUNDRED dollars that that the sponsor of the bill would be a nanny-state Democrat.

W00T! Now where to spend my found money?

not so fast! I bet myself it would be a posturing politician from a bible-belt state, so we split the pot.

Freedom is on the march.

...wait, what? There's slot machines on bases?

Huh.

/stationed at LRAFB, so I wouldn't know anything about that...

Kneejerk, meet reaction...

Megain: your a idiot

I lol'd.

Carry on.

There are always casualties.

BravadoGT: After reading the headline, I bet myself a HUNDRED dollars that that the sponsor of the bill would be a nanny-state Democrat.

Yeah, it's those nanny state Democrats who are protecting troops from themselves by making sure they can't have gay sex on the base.

If he'd been fighting in Iraq like a real soldier should, he wouldn't have time for gambling. He'd probably be alive today. Fark the Democrats and their 'shorter tours' and other such nonsense. This is their fault.

LocalCynic: Yeah, it's those nanny state Democrats who are protecting troops from themselves by making sure they can't have gay sex on the base.

BravadoGT, thoughts on that? Some predict you will be taking a "wide stance" on this issue...

LocalCynic: Yeah, it's those nanny state Democrats who are protecting troops from themselves by making sure they can't have gay sex on the base.

Nice! Newsletter, subscribe, etc...

Slot machines are teh suck.

Give me cards or dice any day of the week!

Seriously, are there any farkers who can explain what the appeal of sitting around watching colored lights waiting to maybe win? Isn't it more fun to have a very active role in your own success or failure?

You send the soldier to the front lines, hand him a big cup of quarters and say "Son, those enemy over there are slot machines. Go and stuff their slots with Uncle Sam's currency. Don't come back till you've hit the jackpot."

He'll know what to do.

doglover: Seriously, are there any farkers who can explain what the appeal of sitting around watching colored lights waiting to maybe win? Isn't it more fun to have a very active role in your own success or failure?

I always thought of slot machines as a place to sit while waiting for the free drink. I didn't even know you could play them until like 3 years ago.

The military already has programs to stop gambling, and suicide.
Perhaps I could suggest the latter as an action I would like my senators AND congress to engage in.
you may begin....now

Now that's what I call feeding the machine!

spokesperson for the Hot Grits Council of America is concerned for safety of teh soldiers

gotta feed the monkey

We must protect these people from themselves. Dying from Bush's folly is OK, but not from anything else!!!! //// \\\\

The military makes money off slot machines targeted towards it soldiers? I support this bill...

If I can't legally gamble in the USA, they shouldn't be targeting vulnerable kids with their slot machines.

Have you idiots stopped to think that maybe this guy had an addiction because he wasn't getting help for combat related stress?

/of course you didn't think
//thats why Bush got re-elected

FTA ~ The Defense Department uses slot machine revenues to pay a small portion of its morale, welfare and recreation programs.

That is crap. The slot machines ON ANY installation are the biggest money makers on post.


FTA ~ The Warrant Officer Aaron Walsh Stop DOD-Sponsored Gambling Act would prohibit the military from operating slot machines on military bases.

Frankly I see nothing wrong with this. This soldier is not the first nor will he be the last person in the military to be, well, ruined by these things. A Master Sergeant that I knew very nearly lost her career due to gambling. In the end she was demoted from E-8 to E-6.

Megain

Sadly, I think you are the only person who has RTFA instead of assuming they entirely understand the issue just from a misleading headline...

Ron Bennington: whose "a idiot"? I lost mine.

welcome to fark, moran

does that help give you some perspective?

University of Illinois business professor John Kindt, who has studied gambling addictions and the military, agrees with Davis that the money raised is not worth the risk. He says the military should find other ways to entertain troops.

Replace the game machines with porno machines and change the poker to poke her and I am sure the revenue will increase.

MasterShakezula: The military makes money off slot machines targeted towards it soldiers? I support this bill...

If I can't legally gamble in the USA, they shouldn't be targeting vulnerable kids with their slot machines.

No soldier or Marine is making enough to waste money gambling.

MasterShakezula: Sadly, I think you are the only person who has RTFA instead of assuming they entirely understand the issue just from a misleading headline...

awwww... and why is that sad?

Shaggy_C

4/10

filth: Slot machines and video poker are the devil. They account for a ridiculous portion of the addiction rate and they're counter to the image the gaming industry wants to project. Yet casinos aren't profitable without them. Long term, the gaming industry has some pretty serious challenges.

Here in Oregon we call it video crack and it does kill family's... I had a spurt of it once or twice but I walked away not having my family devastated

Thank the lord or my survival instincts...or curse him whatever

/Still caturday
//loves slashies

breaking a jones starts with oneself. wifey wanting you to quit gambling or drinking or cracking your knuckles isn't going to do it. many have to hit rock-bottom to get the wake-up call, and when they do, good for them because it's all up-hill from there. but suicide - good gawd, the trouble was running deeper than his mrs realizes. twas more than gambling that did the man in.

I enjoy gambling and I can see how it can become addictive. However, whenever I play slot machines, my eyes start to glaze over and I feel like I'm dead. They are so unbelievably boring that I just can't see the attraction.

"He says the military should find other ways to entertain troops.

Well, since the military bans using drugs, has idiotic rules on drinking and no women in the barracks (at least when I was in) leave it to some asshat congressman to get her panties in a wad over slots. As for the "unlucky" gambler, tough shiat.

KrispyKritter: breaking a jones starts with oneself. wifey wanting you to quit gambling or drinking or cracking your knuckles isn't going to do it. many have to hit rock-bottom to get the wake-up call, and when they do, good for them because it's all up-hill from there. but suicide - good gawd, the trouble was running deeper than his mrs realizes. twas more than gambling that did the man in.

I bet his wife was fat

Scutter: I enjoy gambling and I can see how it can become addictive. However, whenever I play slot machines, my eyes start to glaze over and I feel like I'm dead. They are so unbelievably boring that I just can't see the attraction.

thats good, you don't have the attention span to become addicted to slots

meh. Soldiers these days. In my day they banned suicide.

Anti_Freak_Machine: meh. Soldiers these days. In my day they banned suicide.

Did they lock your corpse in prison if you did it?

I publish a popular instructional suicide how-to manual for the military, so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

I play the nickel slots all the time on base here in Japan. And by "play," I mean that I put in a dollar, press cash out, pull out the pre-1964 nickels (usu. 2 or 3), then deposit the rest and repeat the process. Can often walk out with 7 or 8 nickels from the 60's and 50's. I have a funny feeling these nickels have been circulating on the base here since the mid 1940s, when we took it over.

They're in pretty bad shape (having been circulated), but I figure they might be worth something in another 40 years.